A RARE ARCHAISTIC YELLOW AND RUSSET JADE 'TIGER' TALLY 17TH CENTURY |

one side superbly worked to depict a stylised mythical feline with a downturned head, the body of the beast decorated in low relief with flaming motifs and neatly bordered along the spine with tufts of hair terminating in an curling bushy tail, the body further incised with archaistic scrollwork echoed on the flat reverse, the reverse centred with a recessed cartouche enclosing a two-character inscription reading Pingding ('To pacify'), flanked by a pair of raised and recessed circular 'keys', the yellowish-green stone with attractive russet markings concentrating on the front

Sotheby's Hong Kong, 29th April 1992, lot 663.

Gerard Tsang and Hugh Moss, Arts from the Scholar's Studio, Fung Ping Shan Museum, University of Hong Kong, 1986, cat. no. 129.

Overall very good condition with minute nibbles to the edges. The stone has some typical veining and inclusions.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The present tally, or hefu in Chinese, derives from a special two-piece object that was used as a representation of authority or identification in ancient China. The history of the tally can be traced back to as early as the Spring and Autumn period (770-476 BC), when they were often made of bronze and in the form of tigers – and thus were given the name hufu (tiger tally). They had an important function in the early military system; the right piece was always retained in the central government and strictly controlled by the emperor, and the left piece was carried by the local military officers or commanders. When military action was to be taken, the emperor would send out his right piece to the corresponding local officer, and only when the two pieces of a tiger tally were matched, could troops then be dispatched. As symbols of antiquity, these tallies were developed into individual archaistic objects as they lost their original functionality, of which the present is an example. In its design, with its elegant profile silhouette and downturned head, this piece follows in the style of archaic animal-shaped pendants from the Warring States period (475-221 BC); see a pair in the Cleveland Museum of Art, illustrated in J. Keith Wilson, ‘A Pair of Chinese Jade Plaques’, The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, vol. 80, no. 4 (April 1993), pp. 127-30, and illustrated on the cover and in fig. 1.